Program Notes

DANCE SUITE

Béla Bartók (1881–1945)

Béla Bartók ranks with Franz Liszt as Hungary’s greatest composer; in fact, the New GroveDictionary of Music and Musicians refers to Bartók as the “greatest composer of his country.” Despite a reputation with some as a composer whose music is difficult, almost all of his orchestral works are in the standard repertoire. Bartók and his fellow composer Zoltán Kodály spent many years in the early 20^th century collecting and documenting Hungarian folksongs, in a manner similar to the efforts of Vaughan Williams and Holst in Britain. Bartók’s usage of folk inspired themes guarantees the accessibility of this music; as he once wrote, “atonal folk music is unthinkable.”

The Dance Suite was composed in 1923 on a commission to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the combination of the towns of Buda and Pest. Possibly due to its celebratory nature, the Dance Suite is imbued with Hungarian, Romanian and Arabic folk elements and has been one of Bartók’s most popular works since its premiere. Its six sections, requiring about 16 minutes to perform, are brilliantly scored. The fourth section, marked Molto tranquillo, is an example of the “night music” for which Bartók is famous.

TOTENTANZ  

Franz Liszt (1811–1886)

Totentanz in German means “dance of death,” and its French translation is Danse macabre. The score shows a secondary title: Paraphrase on “Dies Irae,” referring to the Latin medieval chant depicting the day of judgment. Regardless of the language, this quasi- piano concerto offers a spectacular virtuoso display beyond either of Liszt’s numbered concertos.

Liszt first conceived the Totentanz in 1839, but did not finish it until 1849. He revised it over the next decade, completing a second version in 1859, which was published and premiered in 1865, and this is the score usually recorded and performed in concert. The revised version opens with solo piano and timpani pounding out the Dies Irae theme, a passage which is echoed close to the start of Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. This not an accident, as Bartók was a superb pianist who achieved great success with his many performances of Totentanz.

After this dramatic opening, five variations on the Dies Irae theme follow. The first three are quite short; the fourth is marked Canonique, referring to the church, and the fifth is a long fugue. After a solo cadenza, the Dies Irae returns in a smashing finale. The Dies Irae itself dates from the 14^th century, and has been used by many composers, notably Berlioz in his SymphonieFantastique and Rachmaninoff in his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and Isle of the Dead.

SYMPHONY NO 2 IN D MAJOR, OP 43

Jean Sibelius (1865–1957)

Jean Sibelius’ first major success came in 1899 with his Finlandia, a short but dramatic tone poem whose hymn-like central theme is frequently thought of as the national anthem of Finland. Also in 1899 came the premiere of his First Symphony, written largely in the style of Slavic romanticism and with a tragic minor key conclusion. In 1901 Sibelius visited Italy for the first time and began the Second Symphony, which was completed and premiered in 1902. Many Finnish commentators viewed the Second, particularly its stirring finale, as a large symphonic analogue of Finlandia, and it has remained Sibelius’ most popular symphony since the premiere.

Allegretto. The restrained first movement functions as a D Major prelude to other three movements, which contain the true narrative drama of the symphony. This movement is pastoral in nature, and starts with fragments of themes which are gradually aggregated as they develop.

Tempo Andante, ma rubato. This intensely tragic D Minor movement begins with dark plucked notes on the low strings followed by the main theme on the bassoons, marked lugubre. Sketches for the symphony identify this theme with death/Don Juan. The mood grows more despairing until the high strings introduce the serene, major key second theme, titled “Christus” in the sketches. Both themes are repeated, but death ends the movement.

Vivacissimo. The third movement scherzo is in a major key, and as the tempo marking indicates, quite fast. The contrasting “trio” section features a melancholy oboe theme in which the first note is played nine consecutive times. The quick scherzo theme repeats, as is usual in a symphony, but then the repeated note trio returns to serve as a transition into the finale without a break (signified by the word attacca).

Finale. Allegro moderato. The surging main string theme of the finale, with accompanying brass fanfares, brings back the key of D Major. The more somber second theme, played by the winds with a swirling string accompaniment, is a memorial to Sibelius’ sister-in-law, who had committed suicide close to the time of the work’s composition. The patriotic main theme is then recapitulated in close to its original form, but the return of the second theme is much more complex. This theme, now in the key of D Minor, like that of the second movement, is repeated eight times, in a gradual crescendo with an ever increasing swirling accompaniment. At the climax of this crescendo, the key returns to D Major for the final apotheosis of the patriotic main theme which concludes this grand Romantic symphony.